As the conversation shifts, Gallagher and Davis explore the intricate dynamics of identity politics, illustrating the sometimes absurd lengths to which public figures go to appeal to their audiences. With anecdotes about political figures and real-time reactions from listeners, this episode offers a candid look at the challenges of navigating public opinion in an age of instantaneous feedback. The result is a humorous yet thought-provoking discussion that underscores the necessity of not only having a sense of humor but also understanding the power of perception in modern media.
00:06:47 Discussion on Political Figures and Identity Politics
SPEAKER 02 :
Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis, morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here’s today’s M&M experience.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let me ask you, do you get that criticism? Oh, all the time. And it’s deserved.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s deserved. I absolutely do.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I know it’s deserved with me, too. The criticism is we interrupt callers too much.
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, you can’t let people go for seven minutes. I mean, dude, but every once in a while, should I give people a little more rope, a little more time before jumping in with whatever golden point I have? And I’m constantly working on that. So you had great idea. Number one, you said, and I want to get this right. You said, listen, tell you what, here in the hundred days, I want Kamala voters to call and tell me what you guys think about the fact that Trump has sealed the border. Correct. People start to call you.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it seemed like a simple formula. I’m like, OK, you don’t like Trump, but just tell me how you’re receiving the news. Absolutely. That confirmed by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times that our border is closed. How do you feel about Trump accomplishing his signature policy goal? And so John from Chicago called. It all went downhill from there. So here’s what’s funny about this. And so you set it up perfectly. But let me just tell you that let’s stipulate all the years you and I have been in this business. A talk show bit. requires you to either be in on the bit or you’re not. And if you’re not in on the bit, you tend to get really agitated. It can be weird. It can be weird, and it can be frustrating for people who get mad at a bit. Here was the bit. I can break it down quickly. John in Chicago called, just babbling, and I’m like, he wouldn’t answer the question about the border. He wanted to go through his MSNBC talking points, and I was trying to get him to stick to the question. All I want to know is… How do you feel about Trump sealing the border? And he would not. And he was interrupting me. And he kept yelling at me. So then I said, okay, you win. People are mad at me for interrupting him.
SPEAKER 05 :
I’m turning the mic. Did the text line light up?
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s like, Mike, let him talk. Let him finish. Let him talk. Precisely. Which I got. So I thought, okay. All right, I’ll fix your wagon. You don’t want me to talk? I’ll turn the damn mic off. So then I took calls, and I didn’t say a word. I only wanted Kamala voters. So then they were mad at me for not saying anything. Let me give you an example. And you asked for this yesterday, so I had the team pull an example. So here’s a guy. I said, okay, you win. You beat me into submission. I’m a big mouth. I interrupt too much. I’m a terrible person. I’m a horrible talk show host. I don’t know what I’m doing. So here’s what I’ll do. I’ll turn the mic off. I’ll say, hello, Bubba in Grapevine, and the floor is yours, and I’ll turn the mic off. And I did it repeatedly. Here’s an example. Here’s Harry in Anderson, South Carolina. Hello, Harry in Anderson.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’m Hey, Mike, how are you? Am I correct saying happy belated birthday? Did you not recently have a birthday?
SPEAKER 04 :
Hello? I’m not interrupting you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I’m just calling. I’m calling in. No, I did not vote for Trump. So that’s how it went. That is so uncomfortable.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, it was awkward. The poor man. And when I felt bad about doing it, even though I’m doing a bit.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s genius. It’s genius.
SPEAKER 04 :
But he was a nice man.
SPEAKER 05 :
I imagine, I told you this last night when you told me about this. I said, please, let’s discuss it. Is there were people who were not familiar with what had preceded this. Correct. Who might have just, let’s turn on the Mike Gallagher show today. And they thought he might have slumped over with a stroke or something.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is Mike seizing up? What’s going on? Well, here’s what’s funny. So I’ve got this text line, which I admit I obsess over. It’s an instant feedback. If you’re a jerk, you get blocked right away. But I do like getting the feedback from people through my text line, which is 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453. We get a lot of comments during the M&M experience, which I share with you. The same people who were attacking me for interrupting the first caller, you’re an ass for…
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SPEAKER 04 :
interrupting john how dare you you’re stupid you’re well then they got enraged well then they didn’t like silent mike then they’re mad at me you’re being a petulant child this it was the same people it’s the same ones you’re so stupid how dare you these people are trying to be nice to you and you’re not responding it’s like you can’t i said and then of course because it was a bit Quote, unquote, capital B-I-T. It was a shtick.
SPEAKER 05 :
How long did you let this go? Five minutes. How many calls did you take?
SPEAKER 04 :
Five minutes is forever. Oh, yeah, maybe eight. It took forever. It was an eternity.
SPEAKER 05 :
People would call you, Bill in New York, and, yeah, Mike, hi.
SPEAKER 04 :
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. How are you today, Mike? And the trouble was a lot of them sounded like nice people. So here I am, the bully, the ogre. But the best part was, again, people not getting the bit. There was a guy, an American Airlines guy. He literally signed his email, his flaming email, with American Airlines at the bottom. He’s from Chicago. So an American Airlines guy, you’re the rudest, most obnoxious thing. I’m like, I couldn’t help it. I wrote it back. Oh, man. Your lack of self-awareness is stunning but amusing because it really is. It’s like you don’t even get it. How do you not understand the bit? You’ve got to have some fun, man.
SPEAKER 05 :
You’ve got to have some fun.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we’ve got to have a sense of humor over Tim. You know, you mentioned Tim Walz, and I’ve got to get to this.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I don’t know why I did, but okay, sure.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I’m with you. I don’t want to hear cackles. I don’t want to hear her giggling. And she did. She did the same thing. Something about elephants in India. Have you seen the video? I mean, it’s so bad. I’m thinking, dear Lord, thank you for blessing us with dodging that bullet.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank God he won. Thank God he won.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mark, I would have retired. I couldn’t do it. I could not. Can you imagine every day playing clips from her?
SPEAKER 05 :
I do. And not just for the content or the horrible things that she’s doing, but just that voice. And listen, there’s nothing misogynistic about that. There are guys who I don’t want to listen to a lot as well. Maybe some I even agree with sometimes. Like, boy, I don’t know about this. And just thank heavens, thank heavens, thank heavens. And so, yeah, so there she was out there talking about chaos and constitutional crises. And it’s like, I’m sorry, you are who?
SPEAKER 04 :
So along comes Tim Walz. They’re both coming back for some reason. And Tim Walz thought it would be smart to tell on a panel that the reason he was picked for the ticket. Was so that he could code talk to white guys. Yeah. Mark, when you admit that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Guys who watch football and fix their trucks. Because when I think manly man watching football and pulling the linkage on a 67 truck, I think of Tim Wall.
SPEAKER 04 :
But the admission that we’re going to talk in code to white guys fixing their truck and put them at ease.
SPEAKER 05 :
To give them permission to vote for this.
SPEAKER 04 :
For this.
SPEAKER 05 :
He put it in some weird dismissive way. It’s like, what?
SPEAKER 04 :
The black woman is this? I mean, and he said it out loud. Mark, do you know, I mean, do people realize how awful that is? To code talk, we’re going to talk in code to white guys. Identity politics is everything to these people. Last night on CNN, Ana Navarro, who is this smug, sanctimonious, really, really… reprehensible… The meltdown? Well, the meltdown with Scott Jennings?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there’s one with Scott Jennings and one with Sir Michael Singleton.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that meltdown was, wait a minute, blacks brought over on slave ships. Here she is telling the black guy. He’s like, wait a minute, you’re telling me about blacks and slavery? And she’s like, well, my people are Latino. My people are Latino. We’re being oppressed. It’s like, no, I’m oppressed. No, I’m oppressed. No, I’m a victim. No, I’m a victim. It’s unbelievable. That clip, and incidentally, the host, what’s her name, Abby, whatever her name is?
SPEAKER 05 :
Abby Phillip.
SPEAKER 04 :
She got so uncomfortable with it, she tried to toss to break. They were yelling at each other into the break. They were still yelling at each other. I mean, it touched a nerve.
SPEAKER 02 :
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